Boy, 13, Injured Seriously In 70 Mph Chase

Police Pursuit Comes After Run Of Car Thefts

One of Howard County's busiest auto theft weekends of the year culminated early Monday morning with a high-speed chase between police andthree teen-agers in a stolen car.

County police said 13 vehicles were stolen and 10 attempted auto thefts were reported over the weekend.

Most of the cars were Hondas, Chevrolets and Jeeps. Typically, those makes have been the common targets for auto thieves in Howard County.

Monday's chase involved a stolen 1990 Honda Accord driven by a 13-year-old Baltimore City boy, who remained at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center Tuesday with serious internal injuries following the 12:45 a.m. crash.

The youth's condition was listed Tuesday as serious but stable.

Two other Baltimore youths, ages 14 and 16, were passengers in the car. Both were treated and released fromUniversity Hospital in Baltimore.

The Honda collided with anothercar in Baltimore County after leading Howard County police on a 10-minute chase.

Police suspect the incident started as a joy ride that "got out of hand," said Gary L. Gardner, a county police spokesman.

He said most of the county's car thefts involve Baltimore juveniles looking for a joy ride back to the city.

Police received two calls at approximately 12:30 a.m. Monday after three males were reported tampering with the Honda at the Fairway Point apartment complex in the 5000 block of Columbia Road.

An officer arrived at the parkinglot in time to see the car leave at a high rate of speed, police said.

The patrol car began chasing the Honda onto east Route 108, then to north U.S. 29 and east U.S. 40, a police report said.

Police said the cars reached speeds of 70 mph during thechase.

"It wasn'ta real high-speed chase, and there weren't a lot of cars on the roads at the time," Gardner said.

Police said the Honda headed down Rogers Avenue to Main Street in Ellicott City, then continued along Md.144 into Baltimore County.

The car crashed into the back of another car that was attempting to turn onto Paradise Avenue, a street just east of the Baltimore City line.

A 31-year-old driver and a 28-year-old passenger in the second car received minor injuries and were treated at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore County police said.

Each of the three suspects has been charged through juvenile petitions with auto theft. The 13-year-old driver has also been charged with numerous motor vehicle violations, police said.